Gerard Butler began negotiations with Relativity to topline the adaptation of the sci-fi comic Afterburn in 2010. Antoine Fuqua was attached to direct at the time, but has since moved on. Butler is still interested in the project if he can work it into his schedule, so the studio is motivated to find a Fuqua replacement. Heat Vision reports that Tommy Wirkola is now attached to direct and rewrite the script. The Norwegian director parlayed the buzz surrounding his 2009 Nazi zombie flick Dead Snow into a high-profile English-language debut, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Wirkola also directed a Norwegian parody of Kill Bill, so it’s clear the man likes to blur his genres. In fact, though “set in a future where solar flares have left half the world a ravaged wasteland filled with mutants and pirates,” Afterburn sounds like the most straightforward story he’s ever faced. Hit the jump for the full synopsis of Scott Chitwood and Paul Ens‘ graphic novel.

In the near future, a massive solar flare strikes the dayside of the Earth, utterly destroying the Eastern Hemisphere. Europe, Africa, Asia, India and Russia are turned into wastelands. What life remains becomes mutated from radiation and fallout. This is the backdrop for Red 5 Comics’ adventure series, AFTERBURN.

Beneath the ash, death and tragedy, treasures both modern and ancient lay unclaimed. Enter Jake and his team of “recovery experts”. For the right price, they are willing to enter the quarantine zone to retrieve items for rich Western clients. The Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone, the Crown Jewels—no job is too big or small. Along the way, they must face rival treasure hunters, rogue armies, pirate gangs, and hostile mutants. But as the saying goes—amid chaos, there’s profit. [Red 5 Comics]